Dix Parfums set by Fragonard Parfumeur

Today I am going to tell you about one  of my favorite fragrance sets. This one is by Fragonard. Fragonard is old French perfume house, founded back in 1926 in Grasse, the perfume capital of the world.

What I particularly like about Fragonard is the vast selection of body and face care products to choose from. They also offer home fragrances and cutest soap selections.You can even find the soap shaped as a duck! Sort of a rubber ducky for grown-up girls :)

The fact that Fragonard has quite a substantial selection of fragrances for men and shower gels to complement these fragrances, makes me particularly happy. I feel like often times men are not taken in consideration that much, and their needs are not catered to the extend they can be.  Now onto review, shall we?

This is cutie's name is Dix Parfumes ( Ten Perfumes in English). It comes in a sturdy cardboard box. There are ten miniature bottles in the box. Each bottle contains 2 ml of perfume. All scents come in "parfum" concentration, and this fact makes me extra happy! Bottles are simple and linear, made of glass, and the cap is simple white plastic cap. I like the fact that each bottle bears the name of the fragrance it contains.

This can be a fantastic gift for those who want to get acquainted with Fragonard. Or just for those who travel a lot, this set is small in dimension, thus can be just tossed into your suit case and off you go! It has fragrances to satisfy all needs, really. Day-time, night-out or a working bee fragrance can be found in this set. The fragrances are beautiful. Some I like more than I do others, but otherwise- a great set indeed!

Fragonard is the fragrance that reminds me of my childhood. My mom used to have something really similar. Could it be Ellipse by Jacques Fath? At times Fragonard reminds me of Cabotine by Gres. The pyramid is straightforward: honeysuckle, bergamot, amber, lily, and jasmin. For my nose it is a pure green watery lily with a hint of woodiness in it. The wood and the honeysuckle come forward on a dry down. There is still this freshness to the scent, but amber gives a certain depth to it and honeysuckle gives a  certain sweetness. To my mind, this is a perfect companion when you go out in the foggy spring morning. It is clean and sparkling fragrance that develops into something sunny and sweet. It is a lasting fragrance, which is a big plus  for me!

Next on is Eclat. To be honest, not impressed by it. It has an interesting pyramid, but on me it is just a one big sweetness. Almost palpable sweetness. It can be interesting for some women. For me- not so much. It is a better version of sweet tacky body sprays that so many brands come out these days. The pyramid includes orange blossom, saffron, bergamot, freesia, lemon frangipani as top notes;  gardenia, and marshmallow and amber as the base. The top notes escape from me completely. I do not feel any of the citrus-y goodness. It feels like my perfume is "incomplete", like top notes were not added. It just starts with frangipani for me, and goes straight to marshmallow. The scent is long-lasting. Great for a teenager girl, indeed. Me no likey :)

The third in the box is Juste un Baiser ( Just a kiss!!!!!). This scent I like more than  I do Eclat, even though it is still simple sweet fragrance for me. It does not have a wow factor. I feel strawberries and blackberries right after I put the fragrance on. As time passes by it becomes even more sweet. After around 10-15 minutes of wear I feel musky notes coming through. That's it. Still better than Eclat for me. It is a light summer playful fragrance. Not very long-lasting, but a good 3 hours of wear you'll get of it! In case you're interested, the pyramid of Juste un Baiser is like so: mandarin orange, violet and pear at the top, the mid notes are floral notes, blackberry, wild strawberry and there is musk, amber and vanilla at the bottom.

Belle de Nuit is an example of a fragrance that contains rose ( and I hate roses!) that I manage to like and wear and that does not repel me. The pyramid is simple: plum, rose, musk, violet and geranium. I manage to feel everything except for geranium. All at once, but the blend is delicious! It is a long-lasting fragrance. For just-like-me-rose-haters: the rose note is noticeable but it is artfully intertwined with plum, violets and musk that it is not intoxicating and not unpleasant. I like it.  It is sexy and sometimes smells skin-like on me. I don't love it because of the rose, because even though it is not overwhelming, it is still there. It should't have been put there. FYI, not arguing with the Nose behind this fragrance, just complaining. 

Diamant is one of the best scents in the scent. Complex and beautiful pyramid. Mandarin orange, orange and pepper at the head, rose, jasmine and plum in the middle and the bottom notes are patchouli, vanilla, musk and caramel. This scent that guarantees compliments to its wearer. Bravo, Fragonard! It evolves wonderfully- patchouli comes forward immediately after you put the fragrance on after just 5 minutes pepper joins it. I feel the sparkly notes of orange along with patchouli and pepper. Then I feel plum and jasmine and patchouli all over again. I can smell caramel and vanilla notes as well. And some musk. I really feel that the star ingredient here is patchouli. You can feel it right after you apply and it never fades away. 

The scent has a good staying power, but of course it depends on how much of the product you apply. It is sexy and somehow classic. Can be worn any time any where.

Ile d'Amour is a beautiful watery scent. It is floral, fruity and clearly aquatic scent. These kinds of scents tend to give me a headache. (Davidoff Cool Water. uhhh!!!!!!!!) Not this one. Probably because it is more floral and fruity than it is aquatic. Here is the pyramid of this beautiful scent: there is osmanthus, rose, jasmine, lilac, lily-of-the-Valley, musk, amber and sea water. It seems that I skip the osmanthus and rose part here. I just don't feel them here. The outstanding here are the first notes that rush out on you the moment you apply  this scent to the skin: sea water, lilac and the lily-of the-Valley. These three guys alone manage to make this scent very light, playful, youthful, fresh and overall wonderful for warmer time of the year. It can be quite refreshing in hot summer. It is a delightful fragrance, indeed. Staying power is surprisingly good!

Belle Cherie. As soon as you spritz it on you are like: wow! Let's first check the pyramid: orange ad star fruit as top, jasmine, heliotrope and lily-of-the Valley are in the middle; sandalwood, tonka bean and vanilla are at the base. It is a punch of orange right to your nose. Fresh and beautiful with a twist. Or, rather, twists. There are four of them: they are named tonka bean, vanilla, jasmine and sandalwood. Wonderful fragrance. Opens up for me as a simple citrus and in matter or minutes you  feel its warmth thanks to vanilla, jasmine, tonka bean and sandalwood. They all rush on you at the same time. It is a multi-dimensional fragrance. Suitable for many occasions. My only complain is moderate staying power and quite average sillage. This scent should follow you everywhere! Well, it can, if you pour 2 ml at once on your skin :)

Etoile reminds me of my love named Eau De Cartier. It is the same type of fragrance. At times it feels like Dolce& Gabbana Light Blue ( such a big love of mine!) due to bergamot. It has bergamot, ginger and red apple as top notes. Lily-of-the Valley, jasmine and gardenia as middle notes on amber-musky-cedary base. The lasting power and sillage to this one is amazing. It is fresh, crisp and just flattering. Totally love it!

Emilie is wonderful ( I guess) scent for someone who loves roses. I don't. It has violet, roses. lily-of-the-valley, jasmine, amber, range blossom and sandalwood. The scent has strong rose accords that last all the time. I can distinguish violet and sandalwood. I was not able to estimate the staying power because I just washed away the perfume. The rose turned out to be the exact rose I don't like- oily, rosy rose that gives me headache. I will be passing this one to someone who can give it love it deserves.

Frivole is the last but not least in this set. It is fresh summery sunny scent. Reminds me of I Love Love by Moschino. Probably because of top notes that include green tangerine, orange, lemon, bergamot- those typical components that can be found in nearly 90 % of summer-destined fragrances. The middle notes are lily-of-the-Valley, peony and jasmine, and the base is composed of patchouli and iris. Jasmine keeps this scent from being mainstream summer fragrance. While patchouli and iris really lift this scent to a whole new lever of summer fragrances for me. It lasts up to 5 hours and has a significant sillage, although I would want it to last longer and to leave heavier sillage.

I hope this review was helpful! My final thoughts on this set is that it is worth giving it a try! You will be able to grasp the message and history standing behind these perfumes by sampling just these ten, be sure. The set will show help you to decide whether you will buy something from Fragonard or not. I will definitely purchase some of the fragrances I found in sample sizes in tis set. Plus I would love to try their body and face care lines as well.

Pure White Linen Light Breeze by Estée Lauder edp

As a prologue to this post, I have to say something on Estee Lauder. It is just a wonderful brand, in terms of make-up and fragrances alike. There are several brands that I can count on in terms of fragrance. Not one of  these several  brands came out with a fragrance I disliked. It is like when you go to the local perfume counter and see a new fragrance of one of these brands and you know, even prior to testing the new arrival, that it will not be a miss. It is one of the brands I tend to recommend, along with several others,  as a sure shot. They just steadily come out with good fragrances. Sometimes they do with great ones.

This is a fragrance I consider to be my "go-to" summer  scent. It is fresh, easy scent.  That is the one that you'd pick when you want something light, fresh, sparking, and delicate.

On a particularly hot summer days this can be your 24H long fragrance- it is suitable in the morning and will be a great companion for you in the evening time when going out.  I love this one, I really do. I don't usually go for these fresh scents, but this one is different. I have two 100 ml bottles, I use them simultaneously. Sometimes I wear Light Breeze for my workout, it gives me extra kick and energy. Honest! During summer time I often carry this fragrance with me in my bag. To refresh it, but it is not really necessary because the scent is long-lasting, surprisingly enough for it being a green-watery citrus scent.

This darling was created in 2007. This is a great addition to the White Linen family! I have to admit I love it more than the White Linen itself, although so often the variations of the original scents tend to be of a lower quality. Light Breeze is a wonderful exception. See it for yourself- there is bergamot, orange, grapefruit and tea as top notes. In the middle we have freesia, osmanthus, lime blossom, neroli and rose. There is a teak wood, cedar and honey at the base.

It is usual for me not to feel the whole pyramid of the scent, therefore here I feel just a burst of fresh-cut oranges and limes. Bergamot comes forward only after, in around five minutes after I spray it on.

The next half an hour of wear give me a distinctive woody accent to this perfume. It is not overpowering, the wood here stays in a shadow, it just helps to bring out the citrus-y soul of this scent.  I feel neroli ( I love neroli!!!) and oranges and wood at the dry-down. The scent is really great, you should give it a try! It clearly stands out for me. There are hundreds of those green fresh scents that pop out like mushrooms just before the summer period. Only few of those could live up to this scent for me.

I guess this one you could describe as an elegant green scent. Usually green citrus scents are for younger girls, but I am sure that a woman in her fifties or why not even more?? will feel herself comfortable wearing this scent. My only concern is that older ladies might find this scent rather simple for their tastes.

The scent has a distinctive sillage to it, which sometimes can be irritating. Seems that there are people who dislike green watery scents.

I tend to use this fragrance in summer. That being said,  I can sometimes spray it on in winter time. In case I need the sparkling lightness Light  Breeze can give me.

Just came to my mind that sometimes this scent can feel a little bit soapy. Or rather like a washing detergent. I happened to me several times. I do not know why it happened. It just did. No problems this detergent-like notes fade away almost instantly.

What I have to point out is that at times when you spray the green scent, first moments you can feel the smell of alcohol. This never happened to Light Breeze. I get many compliments on this scent. Men and women alike. Maybe it has to do with it blending my natural scent? Who knows...

To wrap it up, here are some thoughts on this beautiful scent.

In terms of price, I was not able to find a 100 ml bottle price. 50 ml costs around 75 €. Pricier side, for sure. Worth is? Hell, yes! It lasts and lasts, quite unusual for a light summery fragrance. I usually put 4-5 sprays, and refresh it only in the evening, with 1-2 sprays, should I choose to keep it for the whole day.

The age is not an issue here, women of all ages can wear it.  It is just a matter of preference.

The season: even though I tend NOT do divide fragrances to the summery-winter-y, this is definitely a summer scent. Not even spring-y. Straightforward summer perfume. Would you like to wear it during the -20 and snow? Who can stop you?! I just think that wearing it with lighter clothes, something floating, something long is the best way to compliment this fragrance. I just would be cautious about wearing it on the beach. It has alcohol in it, thus, be careful under the sun, please!

Price/quality relation- I give it a 4 on a multiple rating scale from 1 to 5 ( where 1 equals poor, 2 is fair, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is excellent). I would prefer it to be a tiny bit cheaper, so more people would be eager to buy it for summer.

Yohji By Yohji Yamamoto

This post is dedicated to the one and only Yohji by Yohji Yamamoto. I treasure this perfume and wear it on special occasions of whenever I feel like wearing a strong statement scent as a final touch to my outfit.

Unfortunately this gem of a fragrance is discontinued. Here is the right place to start ranting about why they always discontinue amazing, beautiful, unique fragrances and launch echelons of simple fruity scents?? Oh, why??

Ok, I collected myself. On to writing! Yohji was created in 1996 by Jean Kerleo. It is an outstanding example of fruity chypre scent. The top notes of Yohji are bergamot, galbanum and green notes. Raspberry and blackberry are in the middle, while the base is composed of vanilla, sandalwood ad good old musk. Pretty simple, eh? But the end result is truly  outstanding! 
I have to admit that this fragrance might not be appreciated by those who are not loving strong enwrapping scents. This one is exactly like that. It will capture you, wrap you up,  get inside your nostrils and and make its way to every cell of your body. It seems to be able able to blend with your DNA and after a while you start to radiate this scent.

This exquisite perfume is presented in a sleek simple cylindrical bottle made of thick glass with a black cap. 

As soon as I spray it on, I feel the warmth and sweetness around me, I feel  vanilla and just a hint of crisp citrus. On the dry down vanilla persists and evolves into even more rich and intoxicating sweetness ( headache is possible at this point!! I never had one, but just a friendly warning!). At the same time sandalwood and musk come forward, and they are there to stay!  And believe me, they do! The staying power of this perfume is so great! It lasts on me the whole day. I have to say that I am extra cautious with this darling: 1-2 sprays are enough for me. I have to say more- I try not to wear it if I know that I have to be around many people on this particular day. It is just so potent! While I usually do not care if someone likes my perfume or hates it, this one might be unpleasant to way too many people. And as much as I don't care if the person likes the way I am, I do care if people will avoid me cause of the perfume I wear.

This perfume is not your ordinary vanilla-musky-sandalwoody smell. It is super extraordinary! It is magical. Heavy and light at the same due to the citrus accords in the beginning. It is very festive but can be worn on an ordinary day as well. Suitable for day to night wear, really. As I discussed above, the question of whether this scent is suitable for your everyday routine stays open. You just have to smell it to understand if this is going to be your friend or foe. We are friends. Great ones! Almost family :) 

The thing that upsets me is that this beauty is discontinued. I would buy a bottle or two to stock up if I only could. There is a re-launched version of this perfume and I have to admit it that while it is very interesting and particular, it is not the same. Not to me t least. I might be buying the 2013 version of this fragrance at some point but just because there is no way I can get hold of this "older" version. 

This is the edt, the bottle I have is 50 ml. I am not sure whether it as launched in any other volume or concentration. But nevertheless, being a edt this one has an amazing staying power. Incredible sillage. The scent does not fade, it does not go soapy during the wear time.

I recommend the lightest hand with this perfume. 1 spray is enough. ONE. If you like it to be heavier, still spray one time and then just wait for 10 minutes. Decide after it sets down.

I am not able to discuss the price at this point because the perfume is not readily available. You might find it on ebay, for instance, but I personally would not risk to pay a significant amount of money for a perfume that might be not in a great condition. I trust myself, I know how I treat my perfumes and how I store them. I can not be sure how the seller stores the perfume. So I prefer not to risk.

Lastly, if you managed somehow to get this liquid gold- then test it before deciding whether to keep it or not. In case you decide to get rid of it- contact me :)

Jessica Custom Nail Color in #723 Soar

Finding a right nude nail polish was very difficult for me.Time consuming and exasperating. It was a long trial and error period. My motto when it comes to nude nail polishes is that red is a right shade of nude. I find red nail polishes super easy to wear. I have an Invincible Armada of red nail polishes, they are fun to wear! They are always in, always trendy, always desirable, by me at least. They make your hands look polished, sophisticated and can go with every outfit you'd pick.

Usually when I was having a nude nail polish on my nails- I could stand 1 day at most wearing it. Or not even that. Couple of hours and I would take if off my nails for good and get rid of the bottle altogether. It is because some were too pink, others too warm. Or just were unflattering on my skin tone. I even thought that I will give up on the whole "finding the right nude shade journey". Whenever I had to wear a nude shade I would stick to lighter muddy tones or mushroom or taupe, or light grey. (I opt for cool toned polishes and make-up in general since I have a fair complexion, blond hair and blue-grey eyes). It took me about 3 years ( not even kidding) to find one that pleases me.

So here we go, Jessica Custom Nail Color in shade Soar #723. It was a part of Spring 2012 collection named Spring Awakening. It is cool toned dusty  milky pink cream nail color. It is very faint pink with just a hint of mauve in it. On this photo I have applied it over Sally Hansen Double Duty Strengthening Base& Top Coat. Two coats of nail polish, no top coat applied.

There is the whole 14,8 ml of nail polish in a bottle. The brush is not large, and it is not flat like for instance, Rimmel Salon Pro nail polish has. Nevertheless, it was surprisingly easy to apply the color with it. Moreover, Jessica nail polishes are Formaldehyde, Toluene and DBP free. It dries pretty fast, in 20 minutes my nails were completely dry. Make it up to 25-30 and you can do you home chores :) without worrying that your manicure will suffer.

For now I quite enjoy this nail polish. It has a great texture, it is not super liquid, easy and pleasant to work with. It is the second time I wear this nail polish. Both times for about 2  days. It might be so that tomorrow I will wipe if off and give it away, but today I love it. It will be great for those of you, guys, who like calm neutral colors  that have a "little something extra". If you don't like to apply 2 coats, just 1 will do! The color is opaque and rich. I apply 2 coats just because I always do it that way, no other reason.

Overall, this nail polish is great. I will gladly try some other shades. Probably RED ones. The price for this one is around 13 €, which makes it a middle-priced item.

On a multiple rating scale from 1 to 5 ( where 1 equals poor, 2 is fair, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is excellent), I am rating the easiness of application as 5. I give it a 5 for how easy it was to take it off. Texture is a 4. Quality/price is a 4, since there are cheaper brands that perform equally well,  it is just I was not able to find the color I wanted.
I am not able to rate the staying power because I only wear nail polishes for 1-3 days. 3 days being maximum. But for the time being of this nail polish on my nails, it performed and stayed well. I am not rating the color as well since it is a very subjective matter.

Swarovski Edition Swarovski edt

Dear readers! My reviews are based on my own opinion, perception and experience of the product mentioned in this blog post. Your idea on the same product can be different, and it is fine, of course it is!

Today I am going to write about this  fragrance: Swarovski Edition by Swarovski. Not sure if I like (i don't, really) the name. But it is what it is, right?

It comes in 50 ml edt, not sure if there are other volumes available at all. At least, I haven't seen any other volumes and concentrations. The perfume is relatively new, was launched at the end of 2012, created by Sonia Constant. I personally got mine before Christmas 2013, and as far as I know it was never sold in Finland. I did not have a chance to test it before buying, so the scent did not really turned out to be the one I was expecting it to be. 

Even though I am not a fan of packaging, I just don't care whether the packaging is stunning, elaborated or slick and simple; I have to admit you won't be indifferent to this one. You might like it or not. I personally like it. It is embellished with Swarovski crystals. It is the only perfume I display, the rest of my babies are hidden from sunlight. I put it horizontally, just as it is in a picture and so far only one person guessed that this white-golden thingy is indeed a perfume. It looks like a mini clutch, the packaging was inspired by limited edition Swarovski clutches.

To the scent itself now. The pyramid is simple, has only 6 ingredients. Top notes are clementine and red currant, middle notes are gardenia and Japanese rose, and the base notes are white musk and cedar. 

As soon as I spray it I can feel clementine and gardenia. Red currant? Hello! No red currant here, nope. In thirty minutes of so I can feel more gardenia and white musk and cedar. A teeny bit of citrus crisp as well.  The dry-down for me is even more simple- musk and gardenias. That's it, folks! Ordinary and modest scent.  It is very generic. Boring!  

The staying power is rather week. I have to make 4 sprays when I first wear it for then refresh it once or twice during the day (e.g. 4-5 additional sprays). The sillage. What sillage?? There is a weak sillage, if hardly any. Taking into consideration all I have written above, I think it is best suitable for younger ladies. Even a girl of 14 years old is old enough to rock it.

Overall, I am so not impressed with it.  I sometimes wear it when I am at home doing nothing. Just for the sake of wearing it, using it up.

In terms of price, it is in the middle, though it leans towards the cheaper side of  this "middle". See for yourself: 50 ml of product costs more or less 45 €. Price/quality relation I would rate as 2 on a multiple rating scale from 1 to 5 ( where 1 equals poor, 2 is fair, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is excellent), since I am sure  this perfume isn't worth the money you pay for it.

In terms of age, it is best for younger girls, or those ladies who prefer their fragrances to be light and floral fruity and vanish after 3-4 hours of wear.

Swarovski Edition  has a weak staying power, the crying need to refresh it during the day!

Testing, testing and testing is the key, as usual, though. Only this time I would urge you to test it and evaluate if it is a good value for your money or not. The scent won't give you headache, won't irritate you. But does this make it worth to occupy a place on your vanity table?
Will I repurchase it? No. Recommend it to a friend? No, not at all.

P.S. I am advocating for NOT dividing scents into groups like evening or day-time fragrances, winter-time or spring time appropriate ones, etc. I can easily wear a heavier fragrance in the morning and go for a lightest in my collection for an evening out. Moreover, it is common for me to wear fragrances that are marketed for men. After all, it is completely up to you to decide when and where you wish to wear a particular perfume! Having fun and enjoying the scent you wear is ALL that matters.

Jean Paul Gaultier Classique edt

Dear readers! My reviews are based on my own opinion, perception and experience of the product mentioned in this blog post. Your idea on the same product can be different, and it is fine, of course it is!

This one of my several must-have perfumes. I have been having it steadily since year 2000. I adore it. I can't say enough about this perfume. For me this scent is the epitome of cleanness and purity. This is a sweet powdery  and floral gorgeousness!

Classique was launched in 1993, developed by Jacques Cavallier for Firmenich.

The pyramid of Classique is rather complex and consists of orange blossom, mandarin orange, star anise, pear, bergamot and rose as top notes. The middle notes are as follows: tuberose, iris, ginger, plum, orchid, ylang-ylang. Base notes are amber, musk, vanilla, sandalwood and cinnamon.

One of the bottles I have comes with removable corset. Great detail, especially if you are displaying your perfumes. I don't. This is the fragrance that make me feel like a million dollars as soon as I wear it. It makes me feel like I.CAN.DO.ANYTHING. It is an essence of a woman in a bottle ( Gosh, I sound creepy like Jean-Baptiste Grenouille).

Let's start over. Catwoman. Wonder Woman. Ok, a girl next door with a trail of drop-dead-gorgeous perfume. Empowering, yes, it is a right word for it. It is like a red lipstick in a liquid form. An armor and a sword, and you are invincible! Can a perfume do it? What do you think? :) In terms of  longievity- it is long-lasting. It might give you a headache, though. It cocoons you right after the first spray, and then the components just jump on you one after another. Seriously! So, as usual, test it before buying it!

Sexy. It is undoubtedly sexy and captivating. Whatever you are wearing ( or nothing at all!) this is a perfume for you. The sillage is heavy, be sure you will be noticed! People will be enchanted by you. Sometimes when I wear it I hear something like "You smell nice!" I like this more than" I love your perfume!" Almost like if people get confused and mistake my Classique for my own natural scent.

Now to the ingredients and the pyramid. I personally can't tell apart all the ingredients listed above. But then, who does? Does it happen that one can smell all that is listed in the pyramid? Hmm.... I smell orange flowers blended with sweet vanilla right away after the application. Once it dries down I smell amber and tuberose blended with vanilla and oranges! Bitter oranges, gosh, I love them!! They stay with me all the day, along with beautiful tuberose and sweet vanilla. The bitterness of oranges does not make this perfume sweet and tacky, you don't risk to be overwhelmed with  vanilla, it is on leash! The scent I feel on myself the whole day has much less ingredients in it after all. I definitely smell bitter oranges, vanilla, amber, the powdery trail of my perfume, supposedly because of the musk. Then I feel tuberose and sandalwood. Just a teeny bit of sandalwood. No cinnamon, plum, orchid or star anise. Honest! Sometimes I can catch just a trace of ylang-ylang. Surprisingly enough it comes out in warm to hot weather. When I wear it in colder weather- ylang-ylang shows up never :)

The sillage is heavy, be prepared that you might be traced by it! I usually apply 4 sprays, lasts me the whole day. I would recommend a 1 to 2 sprays if you are just starting to get to know Classique.

In case you are wondering- the little tiny round thingy next to my two bottles is a Solid Perfume. I have to admit that it is rather useless. There is 0.9 gr of product in it,  it is firmly pressed  light beige scented powder. To my mind, the scent is way too weak to be a sound substitute for classic perfume. It is not even suitable for those people that are cautious with their perfumes and tend to apply the tiniest bit of it. Why keeping it? I use it after my shower or bath when I don't feel like applying a perfume or body spray, no other reason. It is also useless when you like to layer your perfume- it just does not do anything.

I feel like I have to mention the seasonal Limited Editions that come out in April-May, anyway before summer period starts. I believe they are called Classique L'Eau d' Ete, and then just the year it was launched.

I have sampled almost all of them, and I even had one, see the picture below, please. Mine was the Limited Edition of year 2009.

I personally dislike them. They all smell the same to me, contain 0 alcohol, which makes them super volatile- you have to refresh it nearly every hour!

But, to each his own, of course. I would stay away from those. In my defense, I should say that this was a gift. So I had to use it! Luckily it was gone in 1 month.As it has no alcohol in it,  it is safe to use it while sunbathing, which makes sense for summer fragrances, I suppose.  In case you like the Classique but find it strong, these ones can be a great alternative. But it is like eating cocoa powder when craving for Nutella. And I will stay away from these summer horrors, I will! So, correction- in case you want to use Classique but are afraid of its overpowering scent- go with a lighter application, spray it  in the air and step inside the perfume cloud. Limited Editions have little in common with Classique.

These are my final thoughts on Classique for you, guys:

In terms of price, it is in the middle, like most high-end perfumes. Not as pricey as some of the niche fragrances, but THE WOMAN :) is not cheap: 50 ml of product can cost up to 75 €. Same volume of edp costs  a bit more. Price/quality relation- I give it a 5 on a multiple rating scale from 1 to 5 ( where 1 equals poor, 2 is fair, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is excellent). Totally worth it!

In terms of age, Classique can be worn by women of all ages.

The perfume has a good staying power, no need to refresh it during the day!
I see it best paired with a floral dress, late spring, evening, high heels and a night out with girlfriends! Or why not as a great companion of a power suit. Typical working day in the office, hectic schedule... It it just I would recommend to use a lighter hand with it if you are not familiar with it. You can always add more!

Testing, testing and testing is the key. I would not recommend buying it without a prior test on the skin; ask for the sample from the sales assistant if possible. You might want to wear it for a day or two before committing.

P.S. I am advocating for NOT dividing scents into groups like evening or day-time fragrances, winter-time or spring time appropriate ones, etc. I can easily wear a heavier fragrance in the morning and go for a lightest in my collection for an evening out. Moreover, it is common for me to wear fragrances that are marketed for men. After all, it is completely up to you to decide when and where you wish to wear a particular perfume! Having fun and enjoying the scent you wear is ALL that matters.

IsaDora Eye Shadow Quartet Smoky Eyes 94 Gold & SIlver

Dear readers! My reviews are based on my own opinion, perception and experience of the product mentioned in this blog post. Your idea on the same product can be different, and it is fine, of course it is!

This eyeshadow quad is FANTASTIC! Let me start off by saying that I love IsaDora as a a brand. The produce good quality mid priced cosmetics. Steady good quality make-up all the way with the exception of eyeshadows that are wonderful! Every single quad I had or have currently are great in terms of quality, application, price, texture, color selection... I can not emphasize enough how much I love them.

The one this post is about is from Christmas 2013 Collection, thus Limited Edition one,  #94 Gold & Silver. You might still be able to find this baby at your local IsaDora counters. It is so worth it!!!!

The first photo is made under electric light during the night time; second in the direct sunlight in the morning. The swatches are made in a sunny day, with no primer underneath. Swatches are made with a fingertip and are a one coat.

This is a very basic yet versatile quad. It has four shades- two matte and two sparkling foil-like eyeshadows.

It is great for an everyday use. Matte black and matte warm brown make it easy peasy to create an everyday office look. Yes, you might need a separate matte beige color along with this quad for a complete day look, but you can't get all in one quad, don't you? :) Matte shades are great to liner your eyes or to make a heavy smoky eyes. Sparkling shades can be used alone for a foil-like sparkle, even in the day time ( why the hell not??). But according to the promo photos, these shades were meant to be used in conjunction with each other. First you make a matte smoky eyes and then just put accents with sparking shades.

Matte shadows are extremely creamy and buildable. They blend out like a dream! In terms of fallout- hardly any, really. Due to the warm brown in this palette this might seem like unsuitable for lighter skin tones. It just seems like it. I have alight skin tone with pink undertones, I just use light hand with this palette and it works for me! The sparkling shades are just a teensy bit harder to blend due do their texture, no fallout here.

My only remark would be about the packaging itself. It is okay, but nothing special. Just a plain plastic case, sleek and compact. Prone to scratches. The sponge that comes along is quite useless.

I will give my grade to this quad here on multiple rating scale from 1 to 5 ( where 1 equals poor, 2 is fair, 3 is average, 4 is good, 5 is excellent)

Presentation 4

Longevity 5

Ease of Application 5

Texture 5  for matte shades and 4 for sparking shades

Price/quality 5

Hope my review was helpful, guys!